Welcome to my book blog created 2012 of books I read and review. I exhausted space on my other blog, Pat's Posts. Better to separate my readings from my writings. Eventually I will display my entire library here. I am in the process of moving some reviews from the other blog here as well. The design of this blog has been a work in progress, slowly, bear with me...

MY OTHER BLOG

If you got here because I commented and you were directed to this blog, it is because Blogger will not show both blogs. So you can get to my Pat's Posts, by clicking this link..my miscellany, the first blog while this is just about books.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Camel Club and Wish You Well by David Baldacci

July 1, 2011 from my other blog, copied here . The other blog was before I set this one up just for books.

I finished reading a few more books to add to my side bar. Just last night, I turned the last page 435 on one of my go to author's David Baldacci, an excellent story teller, "The Camel Club." I have not ever had a disappointing read by him and in this book different yet again, I think he must be meeting with another of my favorite authors, Vince Flynn. The Camel Club published in 2005 introduces Oliver Stone and his friends who exist on the fringes of Washington, DC to seek the truth about the country's business. This is a mystery, thriller, terrorist, suspenseful novel at it's best. Until I read this, my favorite Baldacci read years ago was "Wish You Well." Now it is a toss up. Somehow I had jumped sequence because I first read the second in this venue, which is not a series, with the same four characters, charter members of the club, Oliver, Caleb Shaw, Reuben Rhodes, and Milton Farb but in this they join forces with Alex Ford, a secret service agent against a sinister plot of terrorists and ideologues that threaten the stability of the nation and the world. I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, but this twister kept me glued to the pages and in today's topsy turvy world with repetitive crises in the Mid east, this work of fiction could be predictive.

Oliver, whose true identity is revealed in this book, claims they chose camel because camels have great stamina and never give up, but Reuben, reveals page 432",, in the 1920's there was another Camel Club and at each meeting the members raised their glasses to oppose Prohibition to the last drop of whiskey." As always Baldacci writes well and introduces spectacular characters. Besides the four, there are ever so many more characters such as Djamila, a Muslim nanny, an Iranian posing as an Egyptian undercover of her peaceful job; two sided secret service agents who bring the country to the brink of the unthinkable; the ideologue Muslims who have infiltrated and settled into unsuspecting areas of employment waiting their moment; Brennan, the President of the United States, who is from a small town outside Pittsburgh, PA where terror manifest, North Koreans, Carter Gray the US Intelligence Czar appointed by the President (this book was written before we had Czars...) and more officials and agents. Camel Club is suspenseful and kept me guessing to identify who are the villains and who are the champions and that suspense kept me reading. Pg.154...."..he became Oliver Stone, a man of silent protest who watched and paid attention to important things...." Pg. 40 describing the issues faced today, ..."not a war of professional armored battalions vs. turbanned rabble in the streets toting rifles and RPGs. And it was not simply a difference of religions. It was a battle against a mind-set of how people should conduct their lives, a battle that had political, social, and cultural facets melded together into an exceedingly complex mosaic of humanity under enormous strain." Pg. 69.."ignorance and intolerance, in pairs, never one without its evil twin." Pgs 100-101 well describe the history of the Muslim and mideast turmoils from the Syrians, Chechniyans, Mindanos, Kuwait, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Morocco, Kurds, Iraquis, Baathists, Taliban, Mali and Senegal and more. Baldacci has summarized the escalation of problems the world faces today. I fully recommend this thriller and as I said, I hope it is not predictive.

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Open Book

Open Book

Your books

I found this scrap clipping clearing out paperwork, there is no author, I wished I'd written it but I didn't and I don't know who did: "Your books are your autobiography; they map your history, reflect your tastes, hold emotional moments between covers."

My rating system 5 *****

I am using a 5 star rating with 5 being excellent, the best read and 1 marginal....some books may not merit 1 star. Life is too short to waste on uninteresting books...or maybe my reading time is too short, or maybe I'm just too short. But there it is 1 low to 5 high.

I read books

“I am simply a 'book drunkard.' Books have the same irresistible temptation for me that liquor has

Book Drunkard Quote LM Reynolds

When you finish a book

When you finish a book

You are the books you read

You are the books you read

My other blog

This is the link to my other blog, where there are reviews of books I have read prior to 2012 as well as other writings http://patonlinenewtime.blogspot.com/

About Me

This is to record books I have read, sometimes my comments may be useful to others. However I set this blog up for tracking my own reads, and a way to not repurchase something I have already read. That purpose does not always work. I do not belong to any book clubs because I prefer to choose my own books to read and the book clubs I tried did not work out for me. I wanted discussion, about writing, authors, the concepts, etc instead all I heard was, "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" no depth of conversation, so I gave up. I have been a life long reader. I will say in retirement, I do not spend enough time just reading, as I imagined I would. My days are busy and so it is unusual for me to carve out time in the day to read, mostly I read for about half an hour prior to bed. Life is different than I thought it would be. .